Behold the Pandemic Proof Convention Center
Bloomberg Businessweek US|June 20, 2022
An optimistic architect hits the road to pitch bold new event space expansions, hoping dentists and accountants are once again ready to schmooze in style
By Devin Leonard
Behold the Pandemic Proof Convention Center

In a better time, the five exhibition halls of the BMO Centre in Calgary might have been flooded with thousands of dermatologists or tax attorneys. You can imagine their voices as they roam a sea of exhibitors’ booths, bleary-eyed from the previous night’s barhopping, wondering how they’ll clear their heads in time for happy hour. Instead: 250,000 square feet of dead silence, much as the center has been throughout the pandemic.

Listen carefully, though, and you can hear unexpected activity—the low thrum of cranes and construction workers going about their business outside. Counterintuitively, construction is under way on a $390 million expansion, planned and financed before the pandemic began, that will double the BMO Centre’s size. And who’s here today to take it all in but Michael Lockwood, head of the convention center team at Populous, an architecture firm in Kansas City, Mo. “You kind of have to pinch yourself,” he says. “You’re, like, all right, it’s happening.” Bundled in a black overcoat on a wintry February day, the designer gazes up at the steel skeleton rising beside the existing building and describes what the expanded center will be like when it opens in 2024.

Denne historien er fra June 20, 2022-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek US.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra June 20, 2022-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek US.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK USSe alt
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 mins  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023